Neuromancer
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
_________________________

In the Orwell year 1984, William Gibson released its debut novel with the same name, which became a cult book. In 1988 the software to the book was released by Interplay: Neuromancer is one of the first computer games which picks up the Cyberpunk topic. Same as the book, the game was also awarded with prices, because the 'The Bard's Tale' developers had created a fascinating graphic adventure with role play elements. While the plot and the main character are different, various places and persons from the novel appear in the game. The main character, which is mainly controlled over icons, is either in direct control mode or it talks to another person in a kind of 'multiple-choice principle'; uses its inventory; uses its skills adapted to the time epoch as 'Debug', 'Hardware Repair', 'ROM Construct', whereby these abilities have to be bought on chips which can be implanted; makes use of PAX services (money business, news). What these PAX services are can be understood the easiest if you know the background, the story. 

 Background plot 

The main character is in Chiba City, a highly uncomfortable concrete jungle of the 21st century. The hotel rooms are the size of storerooms and the sale of own organs against cheap plastic copies is a daily occurrence. The town is controlled by huge enterprises, whose computer networks form a kind of secondary world: the Cyberspace. Cyberpunks create the contact between this data realm and the ghetto in the "normal" world with their (computer) decks. The more qualified a Cyberpunk is, the greater are his possibilities to "travel around" in Cyberspace regardless of all passcodes and to not only use the common services (PAX). 

 The game

The hero of the game is one of the Cyberpunks: Waking up one morning in the Chatsubo Bar, he has to find out that his deck is gone and his hotel room has been cancelled. To make matters worse, his circle of friends diminishes at that time in a mysterious way. Before he can start to solve this puzzle - and also many other sub puzzles - he first has to make sure to survive: he needs to get money, as well as many types of passwords, hard- and software. In the further course of the game skills need to be built up and extended. At the end the plot comes to a dramatic climax and takes surprising turns and that way it ends differently than the novel... 

In this game you find elements from several genres. It is a combination of hacker simulation with role play, action and many adventure elements. The atmosphere of the book was well carried into the game, the texts are written very well and contain a good portion of humor. The controls are easy to learn as the joystick is used. One can have a divided opinion on the design: Chiba City does not seem like a concrete jungle as described in the books, but rather than like a newly cleaned town. The flow of the game seems slow due to the slow walk of the character and the frequent disk change. In return, the game plot is complex and the puzzles are not easy to solve. 

The Real World 
 
There I had probably asked the wrong question ...

While you go through Chiba City, every place corresponds to one screen. Many places have exits (also doors) by which they can be left. Exits at the lower rim of the location are marked by a grey line, especially streets have often this feature. Some doors can be locked or watched, here you need to find a possibility to remove the block by yourself. While you explore other places you will find other people and be able to talk to them. During a conversation the speech bubbles appear above the corresponding person. The controls can be done by joystick or keyboard. 

The screen is divided into three main windows. The largest shows the place itself, at the lower left rim is the status and commando icons, above that the status line for money, time, date and condition and at the lower right there is a text window for room description and other text output. 

You can use the joystick to move the cursor (arrow). If you want to choose an icon, a menu option, a download list or another options list, move the cursor there and press the fire button. 

To move in the real world, click on the "Move" icon and then control the character with the joystick. It can also be moved with the keys O  :  L  K . To leave the moving mode, press the fire button. 

Conversations 

To get into this mode, choose the "Talk" icon or press the key T . A conversation basically consists of selectable questions and answers. By moving the joystick or pressing the "Space" key you can flip through the questions/answers, confirm it then with pressing the fire button or the "Return" key. Some questions need to be formed more precise (e.g. "What do you know about ---"), for this you need to enter the term about which you want to ask with the keyboard and confirm with "Return". A conversation can be aborted prematurely by pressing "Run/Stop". 

Using the PAX (copy protection) 

If you use a PAX terminal (by clicking the "PAX" icon or the key P ) the terminal will give you three access codes and ask you for a verification code. Now use the code wheel (contained in the original packing) and enter the number you have found. To confirm, press the "Enter" key. 

The display in Cyberspace 

(Cyberspace connectors appear in each location as yellow circles with red dots). You find such a connector e.g. in the "Gentlemen Loser" and the "Cheap Hotel", but there are connectors for other zones in other places. In Cyberspace you see in the upper half the view from your current Cyberspace position in the grid, in the lower left there are the command icons, in the lower right the EEG monitor is shown, which gives you information on your brain activity. Below the EEG you see the display for the protection of your deck (i.e. if the protection is too low, the deck will harm your constitution and the warez). Right to the EEG there is the display for the energy that your enemies (ICE or other AI) currently have during a fight. Between the icons and the EEG there is a field in which the text output appears if necessary. Below that there is a bar with 4 pieces of information, from left to right: Cyberspace zone number, x and y coordinates in the grid, money left on your credit chip. 

Controls 

Icons in the Real World 
1 
2 
3 
4  		Mode switches between the displays "Date", "Time", "current balance on the credit chip" and "your current constitution" 
I  		Inventory shows what items your currently use. You can "use them", "put them down", "give them to a person" or "delete software on the deck". 
P  		PAX access to the PAX system, if there is a PAX terminal in the room. 
T  		Talk talk to a person in the room. 
S  		Skills choose a skill that you own. 
R  		Rom Construct choose the ROM-construct abilities (if you own one) 
D  		Disk save current game, load an old game, pause the game, start a new game 
		Walk switch to moving mode (control character by joystick) 

Icons in Cyberspace 
I  		Inventory shows a list of softwarez (programs) that you can use. 
S  		Skills choose a skill that you own 
R  		Rom Construct choose the ROM-construct abilities (if you own one) 
D  		Disk save current game, load an old game, pause the game, start a new game 
E  		Erase erase software (a program) from the deck 
X  		Exit leave the Cyberspace (also during the fight against ICE). 
		Walk switch to moving mode (control character by joystick) 

Further keys in the menus 

X  - Exit: leave the current menu 
M  - More: view further menu options (if available) 

After you have chosen an item in the inventory menu, the following option appears: 
O  - Operate: use an item 
G  - Give: give an item to another person 
D  - Discard: put down an item irrevocably 

 Basic decks and Comlink access 
 
Crazy Edo's has the cheapest decks ...

The best way to start your search is to find the basic hardware - your deck - and the software, which is needed to get access to the common computer network. If you look around a bit in your message in PAX, you will find out where you left your deck... 

You can upgrade the hard- and software of your deck in several places of the city, but for this you need money. Better equipment means better reliability and the possibility to install and use more software, but of course the price rises correspondingly. Most of the people in Chiba can only afford low quality equipment from second hand shops as "Crazy Edo's Used Hardware Emporium", but serious Cyberspace cowboys buy at "Asano Computing", the only local trader that sells fully equipped Matrix simulators, so-called "Cyberspace Decks". 

Normal Comlink access requires the use of a Cyberspace connector, many of which are scattered throughout the city. With a basic desk and Comlink software you can use these connectors to get access to computer systems in the whole world. If you know the Comlink access code for a system, you can reach it with the correct version of the Comlink software. Only slightly secured systems need only Comlink 1.0 for access, but companies and governmental systems with high security level need Comlink 6.0 for a connection. Remember that Cyberspace connectors are used for both: Comlink and Cyberspace access. You can buy Comlink software but most of the computer systems are secured by passwords. Some systems tell you the passwords in the welcome message, but you need to find out most of the passwords by yourself. Some of those passwords are additionally encrypted, so a cryptology skill chip has to be used to decipher them before use. 

According to rumours, it is sometimes possible to sidestep the password query of systems with a low security level with a new type of software. 

After entering a system you have access to all data and software corresponding to the security access level. Some systems have different security access levels, every level needs an own password. If you enter a system with a higher security access level, you will be shown more content of the database including secret information and valuable software. 

The fee for the Comlink access time is automatically subtracted from your credit chip, so the time you can spend in the Comlink is limited to the amount of your credit chip. As long as you are inside the database, the time passes as fast as in the "Real World". 

 Cyberspace 
 
The Cyberspace, also named Matrix...

After buying a Cyberspace deck, you can dive into the "Matrix" (also known as "Cyberspace"). Separate from the normal inhabitants who are limited to the basic functions of the Cyberlink system with their access, you see the Cyberspace net with its information in its basic form. All systems of private persons, companies, the government and the military can now be reached, some of them only in the Cyberspace-Net as they have the highest priority level. Visually, the Cyberspace is shown as a 3D grid in which systems protrude as shapes. These systems are in specific zones in the Cyberspace grid. The display of the Cyberspace is actually a simplified projection directly into the brain of the user of the deck, which a human being would else never understand. 

As a comparison you can imagine driving in a town. The streets represent the lines of the grid. The buildings would be the elevations and your mean of transport is the Cyberspace deck. Now you can stop at a "building"/"outline in the grid" and also enter it or get access - if you can pass the guard. 

Same as in the Real World you cannot just enter a system from Cyberspace. Every computer system is protected by software or hardware - the "ICE", which is designed to keep unauthorised users from engaging into a database. 

"ICE" and "ICE"-breaking software 
 
ICE can also be deadly ...

Computer systems are protected by ICE (Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics) — today one would maybe call it "firewall", which as semi-intelligent barrier is supposed to refuse the intrusion of "cyber-cowboys". 

But as the forbidden is always the most interesting, the cyber-punks try again and again to overcome this barrier with their specialised types and versions of "ICE-breaking" software. The trick is to find the corresponding version and type of the software and to use it before the ICE starts its control measures. There are subtle, slowly working virus programs, that slowly approach the core of the ICE program, but there are also brutal program types which with a vengeance try to delete the program in one go. Many different types of these ICE-breakers can be found, some only fulfil their task insufficiently, other are just ingenious and effective. It is your task to find out the effectiveness and mechanism of action of the single types and versions. 

You will also notice that systems with low security are also secured with not very effective ICE-programs. By testing your ICE-breaking software on such systems you can broaden your knowledge relatively safely and train your skills for more dangerous missions. 

Another small point must be mentioned. ICE has the annoying tendency to start counter attacks. A fact is: it can kill you! 

AI - Artificial Intelligence 
 
The AI "Phantom" is keen on a game of chess...

Some computer systems have a second defence line, the AI. The origin of this technology lies in the 20th century, when they started to simulate human intelligence with computer programs. Modern AIs develop real personalities. Especially programmed for the military and companies that can afford it, AIs have mental capacities which are far bigger than the ones of the developers. Amongst others, AIs lead big companies and develop "ICE", which protects the computer system in Cyberspace. 

Due to the potential danger of such a concentrated intelligence, the government created an own department to keep the AIs under control. The Turing Registry has the responsibility to control developments that were made by AIs and to avoid that an AI develops a super-intelligent program. Normally, this is impossible for one single of the current AI, but it is possible if several AI cooperate. As soon as a new AI has been developed, the creator is bound to register name, number and nationality of the AI to the Turing. Turing has also an eye on people who illegally help AIs. 

AIs own all possibilities to protect themselves. Most of the cyberpunks avoid fights with this entities, as ICE-breaking software cannot harm them. An attack of an AI is a unique experience. Surviving cyber-cowboys report, that such an attack goes straight to the brain. The AI gives the brain of the victim a neural shock, which makes the brain activities stop for long enough to end also the rest of the body functions. 

Rumours say that there are skill chips, which allow a mental fight against an AI. Until now nobody has probably survived for long enough to speak about details. McCoy Pauly, aka "Dixie Flatline" claimed, that he had met with AIs in three different systems and only survived, because he had found a weakness in every AI. His helper, whoever that is, who has never been found, made it to rescue McCoy three times from Cyberspace during a "Flatline" attack, but at the fourth time it was too late. 

Survival and limitations in Cyberspace 

It is a matter of skills, equipment, software and information, that you gathered in the course of the game, to survive in Cyberspace. You will notice, that there is often the necessarity to return to the real world, as either your account balance forces you to do so or you need a new deck, more "Softwarez", more information or another access connector — to get to another area of the Cyberspace — for your deck. 

There are two primary factors, that limit you "travel" in Cyberspace. These are: 

1.) The limited reach of a connector: There are many connectors available in Chiba City, but most of them are limited in their reach (also named zone). You also can do actions on the grid inside this zone. 

2.) Used time of the connector: In Chiba City many things are free, but the use of a Cyberspace connector costs money, same as the telephone in the 20th century. By this, another limit exists, as soon as your credit-chip is empty, the connection is interrupted and you find yourself back in the real world. 

Cyberspace Decks 
 
Cyberspace decks are partially extremely expensive ...

Also known as Cyberdecks or Matrix simulators. They are illegal and not available for normal citizens, but certain shops have a very extensive imagination of "independent business". Therefore Cyberspace-cowboys define themselves as self-employed and so they have access to different versions of Cyberdecks. The power supply of both types are internal, as long as it is not damaged you do not need to worry about that. But there are many other differences between a standard deck and a Cyberspace Deck, here the three most important ones: 
Shield: Cyberdecks have a built-in firewall that protects the deck and the software from attacks of ICE. 

RAM limitations: In both types of decks the operating system and applications are kept in the RAM, but the limit is higher in a Cyberdeck, i.e. one can install more applications. The best decks as e.g. the "Ono-Sendai Cyberspace Seven" can manage up to 25 programs. But there is also software that can only be used once and deletes itself after that. 
ROM CONSTRUCTS: These are highly illegal and not available for the private user and also not for cyber-cowboys. Each ROM construct is an "image" of an individual, so to speak a person. It contains personality, individuality, knowledge and remembrance. These constructs are only used by administrators in computer centres, governments and big enterprises and only the best Cyberdecks own a slot for a ROM construct. 

 Skill Chips 
 
you should get information about skill-chips ...

In Chiba City, abilities in the shape of skill chips can be bought. They are used with an interface that is connected directly to your brain and give you permanent access to this special type of knowledge. An example: The cryptology skill chip gives you the ability to decipher all types of passwords. There are skill chips with many types of abilities. They reach from foreign languages to high-tech knowledge or extraordinary abilities in Cyberspace. 

Abilities can be trained through tutorials that are in computer systems or that are held by certain inhabitants of Chiba City. Some skills are also improved by using it often. Generally one can say that skills raise your chance for success in both worlds, the Real World and in Cyberspace considerably. A once learned skill stays with you forever. 

But caution! If you want to use a skill in a room of the Real World, you need to insert the chip, BEFORE you enter the room in which the skill should be used or before you talk to a person on which the skill should be used. 

A selection of the most important skills: 

Coptalk: is used in the Real World to e.g. talk to cops or question different people. 

Bargaining: You should use this in the Real World before you buy something as this skill beats down the price. But there are also persons who have this chip implemented, so this skill does not always help. 

Cryptology: is used in the Real World to analyse and decode passwords. There are a few passwords that cannot be solved even with the highest level of this skill, but maybe they can be solved by thinking... 

Musicianship: is used in the Real World and perfect to become a musician. The skill comprises all types of music... 

Software Analysis: finds and tells you the function of any type of software. 

Debug: repairs faulty software on your deck. 

Hardware Repair: locates and repairs hardware problems of your deck. 

ICE Breaking: is used in Cyberspace before a fight with ICE. With this ability you can identify vulnerable spots on the ICE protection. It facilitates breaking it. 

Evasion: gives you a chance to draw back from a fight against an AI, if you notice that you are not ready for this type of suicide... 

Zen: calms down your mind after a mental shock. They say "Dixie Flatline" was a Zen Master... 

You will also find other skills, but you need to find out yourself how they take effect. 

 The Body Shop 

The Body-Shop in Chiba has two important functions: First, you can swap your own body parts and organs against cheap imitations and with this earn some money and second you can get a reanimation if the body is not too battered. A reanimation is an expensive issue, all your money is then taken that is on your credit card. Therefore you should always keep the biggest part of your riches on your account. Body part imitations have a shorter life span and influence the wear out of your constitution negatively. Some body parts can be bought back later, but for a higher price. 

 Using the PAX system 
 
An indispensable mean for communication ...

PAX boothes can be found in many places of the town. They offer the inhabitants the possibility to communicate with the rest of the world (a bulletin-boards system similar to the e-mail), here you find the most current news (the Night City News) and an online-banking system. Before you can use a PAX system, you are shown three access codes, which need to be answered with the verification code of the code wheel. After that, the PAX main menu appears. Every menu can be left with "Exit" or pressing the key X . The main menu offers the following: 

1. First Time PAX User Info: A short history about the PAX network. 

2. Access Banking Interlink: After choosing this option, you will be shown the banking menu. At the upper border your name and your BAMA account number are displayed, which shows the amount on your credit-chip and your current balance on your account. With the option DOWNLOAD CREDITS you can transfer money to your credit-chip. With the option UPLOAD CREDITS you do it the other way round. The option TRANSACTION RECORD lists the four last transactions. 

3. Night City News: With this option you get to the online newspaper of Chiba. To read an article choose one of the listed headlines. The option MORE is used to list further headlines, which do not fit onto the first page. 

4. Bulletin Board: This option leads to the private message system of PAX. Here you can read messages or write some yourself to other persons. 

 Examples for controls 

The following examples use the keyboard controls. Of course you can also use the joystick. 

Basic deck operation 

If you are in a room with a Cyberspace connector and know already some database-link codes, you can use your deck to log into the database (if you have an adequate level of the Comlink software). 
 Press the key I  for inventory 
 Choose "UXB" or the deck that you own by pressing the corresponding number on the list. The Operate/Discard/Erase menu appears. 
 Press the key O  to operate the deck. A list of software is shown. 
 Choose the Comlink software with the highest level (e.g. Comlink 1.0). You are prompted to enter the Comlink code for the desired database. 
 
Enter the Comlink code. A correct code (such as "CHEAPO" for the Cheap Hotel database) with the adequate level of the Comlink software will open the database. If you enter a wrong code, you can go on trying until you press the return key. If you make a mistake while entering, press the backspace key and overwrite the wrong letters. 
 Press the SPACE  key to leave the welcome screen of the database, then enter the password when you are asked to do so. 

Cyberspace Deck operation 

If you own a Cyberspace Deck you can either log into a database or directly dive into the Matrix. You need to Comlink Software 6.0 for access to the Cyberspace. The get into Cyberspace go the following steps: 
 Press the key I  for Inventory 
 
Choose your Cyberspace Deck by pressing the corresponding number in the list. The Operate/Discard/Erase menu appears. 
 Press the key O  to operate the deck. A list of software is shown. 
 Choose the Comlink 6.0 software. 

 Comlink 6.0 offers the possibility to enter a link-code or to visit the Cyberspace. Choose the option "Enter Cyberspace". Your screen will now show a simplified display of the Cyberspace and the controls of your deck. Your initial position is determined by the location of the connector. If you use the connector in the Cheap Hotel, you will enter the Cyberspace next to a geometrical shape which is your hotel. 

Give an item to a person 
 Open the inventory by pressing the key I  
 Enter the number of the item. 

 The Operate/Discard/Give menu appears. Enter the G  for "Give". 
 If you have chosen "Credits", the amount of money on your credit-card will appear and the following question "Give how much?". Enter the amount that you want to give away, followed by the return key. The amount is subtracted from your credit-card and given to the person in the room. 

Install a Skill Chip 

If you get hold of a Skill Chip, you will carry it in your inventory until you implant it. Do the following to implant the chip: 
 Open the inventory by pressing the key I  
 Enter the number of the Skill Chip, the Operate/Discard/Give menu appears. 
 Enter O  to implant the Skill Chip. The chip disappears from the inventory list and is now ready for use. You can now call up the skill over the corresponding icon. 

Using an implanted Skill Chip 
 Press the key S  for "Skill". Your implanted skills and their levels are shown. 
 Choose the desired skill by pressing the corresponding key, in this example "Cryptology". The Cryptology window appears and asks you for a word that should be decoded. 
 Enter the word and press the return key. The answer is shown. 

Download software to your deck 
 If you are in the software library of a database, a list of programs, which you can download to your deck, is shown. For this just choose the corresponding number. A "Download Complete" message is shown, when the download is complete. The software is now available for you. 

Using software in Cyberspace 
 Enter the key I  for Inventory. A list of the available software is shown. 
 Choose the desired software by entering the corresponding number. 

Using a ROM construct 
 Press the key R  for ROM construct. The ROM construct options menu with the menu items Software Debug / Software Analysis / Monitor Mode appears. 
 
If you choose the option Software Debug or Software Analysis you use the abilities of the ROM-constructs in these fields. After choosing one of the two options the list of software is shown. Choose the software that you want to debug or analyse and the ROM construct starts its work. 
 
The monitor option must be switched on, if you wish that the ROM construct can follow your current activities. This is useful, if you are in a phase that needs your full attention and you could oversee other important circumstances, as e.g. your impending death. The ROM construct will not hesitate to inform you about that in the monitor-mode. 

Delete softwarez from your deck 
 Enter key I  for Inventory. The list of items is shown. 
 Choose your deck by pressing the corresponding number. 

 The Operate/Discard/Erase menu appears. Press the key E . 
 A list of software that is on your deck is shown. Press the number of the software that you want to delete. The software is now deleted permanently. The only way to get this software back is to download it again from where have loaded it in the first place. 

 Tips 

 Save the game status often, especially before visiting the Cyberspace. One dies rather fast in this game. A reanimation in the Body-Shop has only financial consequences, but this is already annoying enough. 
 Read everything, really everything and write down numbers, codes or Cyberlinks, almost everything is needed somewhere. 
 An AI that you have once defeated does not reappear when visiting the database again, but the ICE barrier gets rebuild. 

 During a fight, do NOT press the skill or inventory icons often, but only position the cursor over the icon, press the button and keep it pressed until the window opens. (so: choose software or skill, hold cursor over icon and press fire button as fast as possible, wait) 
 The controls by keyboard are faster and more precise. 
 If you look up the AI-message-buffers of the database, you will notice that there are two AI's, of which each wants to take over the Matrix and which are not really friends with each other. You could play on that. 
 
Many puzzles in this game can be solved in different ways, and many task can be fulfilled in different ways. You are not fixed to a rigid course. Example: There is a Cyberspace connector for every zone of the Cyberspace, but there is also the possibility to remove the borders between the zones. 

Equipment for the end battle: Injector 5.0 (virus), Slow 5.0 (corruptor), ArmorAll 4.0 (4x shield), DepthCharge 8.0 (ICEbreaker, value 32), LogicBomb 6.0 (ICEbreaker, value 24), Concrete 5.0 (ICEbreaker, value 20), Kuang Eleven 1.0 (Shotgun program for Neuromancer), ICEBREAKING level 8 (to easier break ICE), LOGIC level 10 (AI Combat Skill), PHENOMENOLOGY level 10 (AI Combat Skill), PHILOSOPHY level 10 (AI Combat Skill), SOPHISTRY level 10 (AI Combat Skill), ZEN level 2 (2x full life energy) 

Trivia

Music
 The game's theme song is Some Things Never Change by long-lasting group Devo, from their 1988 album Total Devo. It was featured in instrumental versions on all platforms the game was released on, however on the C-64 a portion of the real song was actually sampled and used in the intro. 
Novel

 Several descriptions in the game have been taken from the novel's text. Two examples appear in the screenshots: The bartender's (Ratz) description "His teeth are a webwork of East European steel..." and the Cheap Hotel's description "...smells of cigarettes and cheap perfume..." which, in the novel, describes the smell of the hotel's elevator. 
References

If you look closely at the man with the chips and wires coming out of his head on the opening screen, you'll notice a striking resemblance to William Gibson, author of the book that this game is based upon.
There are a few different references in this game to other Interplay games. One thing in the game is said to take longer to finish than Wasteland. Another reference can be found in the Battle Chess 3K program you can download off one of the game's pseudo-BBSes.

Versions 

The version Neuromancer_(Frontline)_Side_1.d64 to _Side_5.d64 from C64-Games.de (needs no code-wheel, just enter SPACE and then press RETURN at the PAX query) was played through and seems to work without errors (HtW).

 The hint book can be found on C64Games.de, choose the item "Lösung" (see Links) 

 Cheats 
 Take closer look at the savegame 4 of the version Neuromancer_(Frontline)_Side_1.d64 to 
_Side_5.d64 from C64-Games.de.

http://www.c64-wiki.com/index.php/Neuromancer

http://www.mobygames.com/game/c64/neuromancer
